From the streets of Candeal to the stages of the world.

Antônio Carlos Santos de Freitas, or simply Carlinhos Brown, was born in the Candeal Pequeno neighborhood in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Brown is one of the most creative, active, and innovative artists in today’s Brazilian music scene.  The multi-talented singer, instrumentalist, producer, arranger, and cultural activist began his career as a percussionist, which will always be a special piece in the intricate mosaic of the artist’s natural talents.  

Carlinhos Brown’s musical path was guided in his childhood by Osvaldo Alves da Silva, known as Mestre Pintado do Bongô, who introduced a young Carlinhos to the world of music through percussion, and principally the rhythms associated with the terreiros de Candomblé (terreiro: worship space used in Candomblé- Afro-Brazilian religious tradition).  Beginning with lessons from Mestre Pintado, Brown knew he wanted to be a professional musician.  He then began working at the WR studios in Bahia where he learned recording techniques and played in Luis Caldas’ band, which brought Bahian music to the rest of Brazil.  

In the 1980’s Brown was asked to join Caetano Veloso’s band as a percussionist during the “Estrangeiro” tour.  He first became nationally recognized through Veloso’s version of Brown’s song “Meia Lua Inteira,” which featured a unique sound inspired by the rodas (circles) of capoeira.  The song was a national success and was included in the soundtrack for a famous soap opera on the Globo television network.  

At the end of the eighties, Brown initiated one of the most successful projects of his career.  Rediscovering, while at the same time reinventing the sound of the timbau, he brought dozens of percussionists together and founded Timbalada, a group that was born with a unique personality and sound.  Timbalada has gained even more notoriety for Bahian music in Brazil and has toured throughout the world.  

Today, despite not regularly playing with Timbalada, Brown continues as the group’s mentor and he has produced all of the 14 CDs that the band has released.  Timbalada is one of the most celebrated and adored Bahian musical groups in Brazil and throughout the world.  

At the same time, Brown was involved in innumerable other musical projects.  Among those was Sergio Mendes’ CD “Brasileiro” produced in 1995, which brought Brown’s name to even more fame and respect within the international music scene.  Brown wrote 5 of the 12 tracks on Mendes CD, and the project was awarded the Grammy for Best World Music Album that year.  

In 1996, Carlinhos Brown solidified his career as a singer with the release of the acclaimed “Alfagamabetizado,” his first solo album where he performed as a singer, instrumentalist, and producer.  Recently, “Alfagamabetizado” was listed as one of the albums in the book “1001 Albums You Must Hear before You Die,” which brought together the opinions of 90 internationally recognized music critics.

In 2002, Carlinhos Brown developed another great project of international success.  Together with his friends and colleagues Marisa Monte and Arnaldo Antunes he formed the project “Tribalistas.”  They released a CD and a DVD and the collaboration won awards throughout the world, selling more than one million copies and becoming a diamond-selling album.  

Since the release of his first solo CD, Brown has released five solo albums all together.  The latest was released in 2007 entitled “A Gente Ainda Não Sonhou,” which was entirely produced and almost entirely performed by Brown.  In 2010, the musician is launching two new albums, “Diminuto” and “Adobró”. In Diminuto, Brown expresses his more melodic side in sambas, bossas and boleros, while in Adobró Brown is launching a sunnier, more poppy and danceable side.

BROWN THE COMPOSER
Among the more recent compositions is the sound track to the film “Rio”, a Fox Films animation, which is to be launched throughout the world and is produced by the Brazilian Carlos Saldanha, the same who produced the successful trilogy, The Ice Age. In “Rio” Brown works alongside big names such as Sérgio Mendes under the musical direction of John Powell.

By 1985, Carlinhos Brown had already written more than 26 songs featured on the radio stations in Salvador.  This incredible repertoire set the stage for the honor that was bestowed upon Brown in 2008, when he was ranked by ECAD (the Brazilian Central Office for Collection and Distribution), to be the second highest grossing artist for songwriting royalties in Brazil, ranked only behind Chico Buraque.  

Extremely connected to Afro-Brazilian culture and carnival in Bahia, Brown has always been of the most prolific producers of themes for trios elétricos (trucks equipped with high power sound system on top of which bands perform) during Carnival.  Various songs by Brown have been anthems for Carnival in Salvador, such as “Dandalunda,” interpreted by Margareth Menezes, and “Rapunzel,” recorded by Daniela Mercury.  

Brown’s compositions have inspired many other MPB (Brazilian Pop Music) artists who have included songs composed by Brown on their albums.  Some of those musicians are among the most revered in Brazil- Maria Bethânia, Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso, Marisa Monte, Nando Reis, Cássia Eller, Herbert Vianna, and even the heavy metal band Sepultura have all recorded songs composed by Carlinhos Brown.  

BROWN, THE CULTURAL ACTIVIST

In the midst of the eighties, when the musical climate was exploding with innovation and creativity, Brown created various groups that used music as a way to educate and teach social awareness and non-violence to the youth of Salvador, especially in the neighborhood where he grew up, Candeal Pequeno de Brotas.  

Such groups include: “Via Quem Vem,” who participated in the CD “Brasileiro” by Sergio Mendes; Bolacha Maria, a female percussion group; Lactomia, which brought together underprivileged children from Candeal who made their own instruments from recycled material; in addition to Timbalada; and more recently the group Hip Hop Roots, who under Brown’s guidance, have reinvented playing the surdo drum, and the group Candombless, who combines the sacred songs and rhythms of the Candomble terreiros with popular and electronic music to create an entirely new sound.  

In addition to musical groups, Brown is also responsible for creating various other cultural projects and developments.  One of the most impressive is the Museu du Ritmo (Museum of Rhythm).  In 2007, Brown leased the mansion of the old Mercado do Ouro in the Comércio neighborhood in Salvador with the objective of transforming the building into a cultural center and museum for various art forms.  

Today, the Museum building has been restored and hosts important events in addition to containing a collection of important works of art, including paintings by Brown himself.  The Museu du Ritmo is in a fundraising and planning stage for the cultural center proposed by Brown that hopes to include a school equipped with digital technology for the surrounding communities. In addition to all of this, beginning in 2009, the Museum will become the first center dedicated solely to black rhythms in the world, in partnership with the Government of the State of Bahia  and the French company Mondomix, as part of the commemoration of the “Year of France” celebration in Brazil.

One of the events that take place in the Museu du Ritmo is the Sarau du Brown. Since 2006, Brown has brought together different art forms such as music, poetry, theatre, fine arts, and a fashion show, all happening in the same place during the summer in Salvador. This is a new concept of summer shows that are traditional in the Bahian capital. The evenings of the Sarau are always closed with a performance by Brown and special guests. In 2007, artists such as Caetano Veloso, Cláudia Leitte, Larissa Luz, Margareth Menezes, the Angolan artist, Dog Murras, and the only public performance of the Tribalistas with Arnaldo Antunes and Marisa Monte were featured.

BROWN AND SOCIAL ACTIVISM

Brown’s relationship with music has always involved social concerns.  All of the groups created by the artist have always centered on underprivileged children and youth from Salvador, primarily from his neighborhood, Candeal Pequeno.  Through Brown’s work, there have already been 15,000 percussionists that are now playing throughout Brazil and the world.  Some have their own solo careers, while others are performing with some of the greatest names in world music such as the American group Stomp.  

However, Brown’s actions for the community are not totally restricted to music. Since the beginning of his artistic career, Brown has dedicated himself to implementing programs that set out to improve the life of those who live in the neighborhood where he grew up in Salvador. In Candeal, Carlinhos developed the “Tá Rebocado” project, which provided for infrastructure and sanitation in the neighborhood.  In 2002, this project was certified with the Best Practices of a Human Settlement Programme award from the United Nations/UN-Habitat.  

In 1994 Brown founded the Associação Pracatum Ação Social (Pracatum Social Action Association) in Candeal.  More than just a music school, the Pracatum is a reference center that offers professional training courses in fashion, sewing, recycling, language, capoeira, dance, and other Afro-Brazilian related courses, in addition to a preschool.  This project is supported by various partners, including the Brazilian Department of Labor and Education and UNESCO.

Throughout his career as a social and cultural activist, Carlinhos Brown has received various awards.  One of the most recent and prestigious was from a European organization.  In 2008, Carlinhos Brown was awarded with the “12 meses, 12 causas” award given by Telecinco, the most important Spanish television station.  

BROWN’S STYLE

As an icon of fusion (whether it be music or social activism), Carlinhos Brown’s style is a mixture of contemporary and ethnic influences, it is both rustic and sophisticated.  This style is certainly evidenced in his music, yet this is not the only mode of expression for Brown’s multi-faceted taste.   Visual aesthetics and perceptions drawn from visual media are sources of special interest for Carlinhos Brown, and because of this, they factor into his style and work.   

Art
Especially interested in symbols, Carlinhos Brown as an artist reveres beauty, allegory, form, color, and texture.  Whether it is through Baroque artwork and architecture, which is beautifully present in Bahia and is one of the themes of Brown’s personal art collection, indigenous paintings and African artifacts, or the elements of contemporary art, Carlinhos Brown’s work blends images from many different influences.     

Today, the artist is developing his sensibility with focus and dedication, expressing himself through an intense process of painting and production, but still without a scheduled date for public exhibition.

Jewelry
Inspired by the image and style of Carlinhos Brown, the Brazilian jeweler H.Stern has created a collection of jewelry called Miscigens that reflect the eclectic and energetic vibrancy of Brown’s aesthetic.  The four lines in the collection are named after songs by Brown - Latinha, Aruanda, Magano e Indiado – and the pieces are representations of Brown’s unique taste including Indigenous, African, and urban references and symbols.

This collection was accompanied by a photographic catalog by Mário Cravo Neto with art direction by Gringo Cardia, two artists that have worked with Carlinhos Brown in the past on his album artwork.  This beautiful catalog affirms once more Brown’s commitment to beauty and the visual image.

Fashion
As a trendsetter, Carlinhos Brown has a unique style that defies tradition and expectation.  His inexhaustible creativity is evident in his and his band’s costumes during his shows.  

Brown’s inspired style led the fashion designer M.Officer to invite him to participate in their runway shows during São Paulo Fashion Week for two consecutive years.  In the first year Brown was just a model, but in the second year Brown modeled and performed a live percussive soundtrack for the show while models walked the catwalk showcasing the year’s hottest fashions.  

During the summer of 2008, Carlinhos Brown once again set the fashion stage when he presented a fashion show at the Museu du Ritmo during the Sarau du Brown event.  

Design
Recently Brown personalized an armchair from Saccaro, an important Brazilian furniture design company. In Brown’s hands the Moebios armchair was given a new context, including an exclusive print, a magazine rack, glass table and a mobile with percussion instruments. The production was part of the “50 years in 5” project to commemorate the 50 years of Brasilia the golden years of Brazilian design. The piece is to be auctioned with the proceeds going to a charitable institution.

INTERNATIONAL CAREER

Since his time with Timbalada, Carlinhos Brown has frequently toured throughout Europe.  With the release of his first CD came the solidification of his solo career. Today, Brown is one of the most popular and respected artists in the international music scene, especially in Europe, and Spain, France, Italy, and Germany in particular.  

The peak of his international fame came between the years of 2004 and 2005 when he brought Bahian Carnival to Spain with his trio elétrico playing in various cities in Spain. During the 2005 Carnival, more than 1 million people gathered in Brazil for Carlihnos’ show.  

Brown tours every year in various countries and cities in Europe.  Recent highlights have been the production of the first Carnival in the Canary Islands in February 2008 and the performing at the first Rock in Rio Festival in Madrid in July of 2008.

The regard for Carlinhos Brown’s work can also be seen through the production of a film entitled El Milagro de Candeal in 2004 by the Spanish filmmaker Fernando Trueba.  The film portrays the Candeal community through the eyes of the 83 year-old Cuban musician Bebo Valdés during his first visit to Bahia and his encounter with Brown.  During that same year the soundtrack for the film was released with 13 songs composed or adapted by Brown.  The film won Spain’s Goya Award in 2005 for Best Original Song (“Zambie Mameto”).  

Included among more recent notable shows are Brazilian Day in New York (USA), the Olé Brasil Festival in Madrid, the Mawazine Festival in Rabat – Morocco, a show in Shanghai, China, as well as various others in countries such as Portugal, Uruguay, Argentina, France and Italy.